Victoria Park is fortunate to be very close to many of the county's best dining, shopping and entertainment areas: the Beach, Las Olas, Holiday Park and Parker Playhouse, the Galleria to name a few. It's only a few blocks to the offices, courthouses and college campuses downtown, as well as the upcoming Wave streetcar and All Aboard Florida's high-speed rail service. Our neighborhood boundaries extend to Sunrise Boulevard, Federal Highway and Broward Boulevard. We are literally at the heart of Fort Lauderdale and this is one of the reasons we love our location.

With so many important destinations and thoroughfares nearby -- and a growing residential population in nearby neighborhoods -- we also see a lot of traffic from commuters, tourists and seasonal residents looking to enjoy all that our area has to offer. As one of Fort Lauderdale's older communities (much of our neighborhood dates to the 1920s) we face the challenge of updating our infrastructure to meet the needs of the 21st century. VPCA works closely with city, county and state traffic engineers to better manage our busy traffic patterns, improve pedestrian/bicyclist safety, and encourage better transit options while maintaining a the feel of a quiet residential neighborhood in an increasingly urban setting. If you'd like to help out on any (or all) of these issues, the Traffic Committee would like to hear from you. You can This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The latest news on detours and lane closures Sunrise Bridge or the repaving of US1

Here are a some of the projects the Traffic Committee has been working on lately:

US 1 Repaving: scheduled from Summer 2015 to Spring 2016. Florida's Department of Transportation is repaving the travel lanes along Federal Highway and Sunrise Boulevard from Broward Boulevard to NE 17th Way. During the construction phase, FDOT will be rebuilding some underperforming stormwater drains, updating traffic signals (making them more storm-resistant by putting them on mastarms rather than overhead cables), improving pedestrian connections to nearby neighborhoods, bringing sidewalks into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and installing a new bike route parallel to Sunrise Boulevard on NE 9th Street. VPCA has participated in the planning process and advocated for many of the improvements that have been included in the plans.

Sunrise Bridge Replacement: scheduled from Spring 2014 to Summer 2016. FDOT is replacing the 50-year old Sunrise Boulevard bridge over the Middle River with a new span that offers more clearance above the river and enlarges the water/sewer lines from the mainland to the barrier island. VPCA has worked closely with FDOT to maintain traffic flow and neighborhood access during the construction phase.

Master Plan Update: in December 2013, VPCA adopted revisions to traffic components in our 1986 Master Plan. This was a 2-year process that included a number of public meetings with local officials and input gathered from many neighborhood workshops. The goal was to plan for the future using the Complete Streets philosophy adopted the the City of Fort Lauderdale and Broward County. We were the first neighborhood to complete such a plan. Our updates are awaiting approval from city planners to be included as part of the city's overall Multi-Modal Master Plan. Once approved, this will allow us to take advantage of city and county funding opportunities to calm traffic flows, improve our sidewalks, and expand our bike facilities in our neighborhood.

Development Review: Working with members of VPCA's Planning and Aesthetics committees we review plans submitted by developers for new construction in and near Victoria Park. This gives us an opportunity to address the compatibility of the proposed development with neighboring properties and other planned construction in the area.

Sunrise Corridor Studies: Preliminary steps have been taken by FDOT, the county and city to address congestion along Sunrise Boulevard. There is no room to expand travel lanes, so the goal of these studies is to explore new ways to use existing facilities a more efficient manner for all users. New fiber optic cables can support more sophisticated traffic signal synchronization. Better pedestrian crossings will enable nearby residents to walk or bike to local shops and restaurants rather instead of adding another car to a crowded roadway. VPCA and other nearby neighborhood associations are frequent participants at these planning meetings to ensure that our voices are heard by the designers and engineers.

Broward Boulevard Repaving: Completed in the summer of 2015, Broward County repaved Broward Boulevard east of Federal Highway. Part of the project involved the removal of a westbound travel east of 15th Avenue. This allows for additional onstreet parking opportunities in the Pine Crest Village area, which eased nearby neighborhood parking issues. Improvements in parking and drainage on NE 2nd Street were also addressed at the same time.

Traffic calming: We've begun to implement some traffic calming measures we identified in the Master Plan update. A raised crosswalk will be installed across VIctoria Park Road at NE 3rd Court. The raised crosswalk will act as a speed hump to remind drivers to stop at that intersection and provide a safe crossing point to Annie Beck Park. The curbing near the driveway to Hustler on NE 15th Avenue will be removed as past of FDOT work on US 1. This should improve traffic flows leaving Victoria Park and reduce the backups we've experienced at that intersection.

Sidewalks: VPCA has been very vocal about the need to repair our existing sidewalks and build new sidewalks where they are currently missing. We're fortunate to have a fairly complete sidewalk grid in the southern half of the neighborhood. Many of these are almost hundred years old (far beyond their life expectancy) and are in need of major repairs. Outdated city policies preclude a comprehensive repair and maintenance solution. The northern half of the neighborhood is in need of new sidewalks. Retrofitting an older neighborhood with sidewalks in a narrow right-of-way presents a challenge, but with new construction comes new opportunities to update our neighborhood.

Bike Routes: Our Master Plan includes a number of new bike routes through the neighborhood and safe connections to nearby destinations. Our location makes us an ideal location for travel by bicycle. We're working with other neighborhood associations and the city to improve the quality of biking facilities in the area. We are also encouraging residents to use bikes for short, local trips to the store, restaurants, movies, etc. -- it's better for the environment and the rider's health, reduces the number of cars clogging our roads, and it's fun too.

If any of these are of interest to you, please contact the Traffic Committee so you can help to improve our neighborhood.